Almanac Junior Footy Under 12 Grand Final – Wests Bulldogs v Sherwood: Win as a team or die as individuals
From Sasha Lennon:
JTH, I thought you might be interested to hear that Harry’s team, Wests Bulldogs U12s Division 2 won the GF on the weekend with a convincing win over Sherwood. I was lucky enough to be an assistant coach and runner on the day. Here’s a bit of a report:
Sherwood had comfortably accounted for Wests by 20 points in the Qualifying Final two weeks prior, in wet and slippery conditions out at Sandgate. The Bulldogs bounced back a week later in the semi against Jindalee, with a breakaway final term which gave them some momentum. In the lead up to the big day, footy training focussed on the Bulldogs’ running game and a shared commitment not to let the Magpies intimidate the boys on the big stage. Everyone agreed, we’d “win it as a team or die as individuals”. Heavy stuff.
Wests’ Coach Darren ‘Smarty’ Smart emulated David Parkin of 1978 when he played the boys a video of the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 ‘against-all-odds’ finals journey. Vision of the Dogs’ triumph over adversity was played to the audio of Al Pacino’s Tony D’Amato delivering his “Inch by Inch” speech in Any Given Sunday. Would it work?
Yes, it did.
On a wet Saturday morning at Yeronga, Wests took on all before them, stunning Sherwood with a near-flawless display. After conceding the opening goal, Wests hit their stride, taking the game on inch by inch, play by play, hunting in packs and driving the ball forward at all cost. The final score was Wests 9.7.61 to Sherwood 4.5.29. What a win, and what a year for the mighty Bulldogs!
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Fantastic result for Sasha and son Harry and all the West Bulldog’s boys. They all must be feeling very proud. Well done Grandson Harry, Son Sasha and all the bulldog boys, trainers and all concerned with the club.